Projectile for sport throwing games have been a long time source of entertainment at picnics, outdoor gatherings, and other outdoor social events. One such popular projectile for sport throwing games is the football.
For amateurs the throwing and catching of a football is very exciting when played as a team game. However, throwing and catching a football by two or more individuals can become uninteresting, tiresome, and oftentimes, boring. This can be due in part to the limited flight distance an amateur can realize and the difficulty an amateur has in achieving the necessary rotation and spiraling of the football that enables a stable and interesting flight trajectory.
In attempts to add more excitement and enjoyment to the mundane activity of individuals throwing a football at an outdoor gathering, there have been modifications made to a football to try and increase the flight distance, accuracy, and trajectory of the projectile for sport throwing games. These modifications have departed from traditional football design, and have created a new market for projectile for sport throwing games which bear some resemblance to the football.
For example U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,466 MacDonald et. al, discloses a GAME BALL with a hollowed out center portion to allow air to pass through it. The diameter of the hollowed out portion decreases as it approaches the center and then expands again at the opposite end, thereby increasing the flight distance and accuracy.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,550 Handy, discloses a FOOTBALL HAVING RAISED RIBS. The addition of raised ribs along the body of the football allow for a better grip and differing aerodynamic properties of the football when thrown.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,948 Thomas, discloses a FOOTBALL with a hollowed out center passage, and a pair of wind fins mounted within the passage. When thrown the wind fins are apparently meant to enhance the rotation of the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,329 Bushman et. al., discloses a PLAY PROLATE SPHEROID GAME BALL. The ball is characterized by a cylindrical hole through the center and fins mounted to the outside to aid in spinning the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,451 MacDonald et. al., discloses a GAME BALL having a hollowed out center passage and weighted material that responds to the spinning of the football by moving radially outward.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,368 Pearson, discloses a LIGHTWEIGHT BOUNCEABLE Projectile for sport throwing games PROVIDING SLOW ERRATIC FLIGHT. The device has a hollow center passage coupled with cut out design patterns along the body to cause an erratic flight path.
The aforementioned references are directed to projectile for sport throwing games that modify the design of a conventional football, while at the same time enabling an amateur user to enjoy the basic characteristics of a football. There continue to be improvements made in the design of projectile for sport throwing games, with the objects of minimizing the amount of skill required to participate in the activity while still providing enough excitement for continued enjoyment and of improving the performance limits of the projectile.
One drawback to the above prior art is that when it is not in use, the projectile for sport throwing games do not serve any useful purpose. They merely take up valuable cargo space in a car or travel bag that could otherwise be used more efficiently. For example, when packing for a camping trip space is at a premium, so there may be a point when recreational equipment is left behind in favor of more a practical necessity. But recreational equipment that also serves a useful purpose when not being utilized as a toy can be especially valuable. Therefore when one device can perform more than one function it allows other items to be taken along or it reduces the total amount of items that are brought on an outing.
The projectile for sport throwing games available on the market, such as those noted above, provide variations on the traditional design of a football. The present invention not only provides a new and useful improvement on the traditional design of a football it also serves a dual purpose that none of the prior art has addressed.